The research of the new Molecular Biomedical Imaging Laboratory will include developing patient-based methods for detection and quantitative characterization of subclinical cardiovascular disease of the myocardium and blood vessels in both early phase clinical trials as well as in multi-center studies. Areas of study will include genetically determined disease, as well as acquired cardiovascular disease as a result of common risk factors. Methods include advanced magnetic resonance techniques, cardiovascular computed tomography, and molecular probes. A separate program directed towards optimization of MRI techniques for disease characterization and detection in body imaging was focused on breast cancer evaluation. This work is focused on detection of microcalcification with MRI, a marker of cancer. In addition, molecular motion of water in breast cancer is being evaluated using diffusion weighted imaging.